There’s something about Graham Spencer that just doesn’t work out very well for Mukai Maromo.

Spencer, a teammate of Team Alpha Male fighters such as Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes, on Friday submitted Maromo with a third-round north-south choke to win the Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight title at “MFC 36: Reality Check.” It was his second win over Maromo after winning a unanimous decision against him more than two years ago.

MFC 36 took place at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main card aired live on AXS TV.

Spencer came forward early and worked for a takedown against Maromo. He finally got it and went to work trying to pound him. Maromo got back to his feet and landed a knee, and the two eventually broke. Spencer tied things up again, though, and dragged the fight back to the ground. He tried to pass, but Maromo was able to maintain half-guard. Finally Spencer was able to pass to side control, then worked to get full mount. But Maromo beautifully reversed and got back to his feet.

Maromo didn’t let his hands and knees go immediately in the second, but when he did he landed nicely with knees and forced Spencer to go for a defensive takedown. Midway through, they broke apart. But it was Maromo who finally looked comfortable in the striking game – until Spencer grabbed Maromo’s leg as he was looking for another knee and took him down. Spencer looked to mount, but again Maromo reversed out nicely to get back to his feet.

Toward the end of the second, though, as the two traded in the corner, Spencer landed a shot that appeared to have Maromo wobbled as he walked back to his corner. And in the third, Spencer took advantage. Getting the fight to the ground, he was able to tie Maromo up with a north-south choke, and though Maromo fought it initially, he was soon forced to tap.

“If you break down the body, the mind will follow,” Spencer said. “I just kept pushing the pace and stayed on him. I could feel him breaking at the start of the third round. I knew I rocked him (in the second). When I got him down pretty easy in the third, I knew I was going to end it quick.”

“I just didn’t stick to my game plan,” Maromo said. “I was supposed to be punching a lot, lots of knees and kicks. I didn’t stick to the game plan and I lost the fight. I had the fight, and I just couldn’t react in time. (The takedowns) definitely played a part in the outcome of the fight. I did the right things at the wrong times.”

Spencer (10-1) won for the fourth straight time and is unbeaten in six straight. He improved to 2-0 under the MFC banner. Maromo (8-3) had a five-fight win streak snapped and lost for the first time in his MFC run.

Elvis Mutapcic defends middleweight title against Sam Alvey

Elvis Mutapcic looked a little worse for wear after 25 minutes against Sam Alvey, but he still had his belt, which was all that mattered.

Mutapcic had a few shaky moments against Alvey, but won a unanimous decision with scores of 48-46, 49-45 and 48-46.

Mutapcic went straight to the kicks early, his specialty. But for the first minute, the fighters mostly felt each other out. Alvey threw a left kick, and Mutapcic tried to counter with his hands. But an outside leg kick from Mutapcic took Alvey off his feet momentarily.

A massive flurry from Mutapcic dropped Alvey, and Mutapcic pounced on him. He locked in a guillotine choke as Alvey tried to get back to his feet. But Mutapcic trapped his arm and fell back into guard, looking to finish the fight. But Alvey survived the attempt and survived the frame.

Mutapcic continued to find success against Alvey in the second and third rounds, and generally seemed to be getting his strikes off just a bit quicker than Alvey – and at the same time, seemed to be staying just a split second ahead of Alvey’s strikes, as well.

In the fourth round, though, Mutapcic landed a low blow – his second of the fight – and the referee took a point. Had Alvey been able to mount a rally in the fourth to steal the round, the fight would have been a different story as a 10-8 round would have brought a potential draw into the picture. But Mutapcic mostly was able to maintain through the round to salvage a likely 9-9 from the judges with the lost point.

In the fifth, Mutapcic backed Alvey into a corner and started landing with his right hand. The two started to trade punches, but it was Mutapcic who was getting the better of them. Although he couldn’t end the fight, the back-and-forth flurries made for an exciting finish to the 25 minutes.

“I was trying to knock him out, and there’s a reason he’s never ben stopped,” Mutapcic said. “He’s a tough dude. I just had to keep pressuring him until the last second.”

Mutapcic (13-2) defended his middleweight belt and won for the fifth straight time. Alvey (19-5), a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter,” had a two-fight win streak snapped.

Smealinho Rama makes easy work of Mike Hackert

Smealinho Rama said he envisioned ending his fight with Mike Hackert with a jab, then an uppercut. He was wrong. So wrong.

It was a right cross, not an uppercut, that ended Hackert’s night midway through the first round.

Rama and Hackert came out swinging early, but it was Rama getting the best of things in the early going. And then, almost precisely as he had predicted – and reportedly envisioned in a dream – Rama landed a left jab that led to a right cross. The right hand hit Hackert in the temple and sent him to the canvas, and a few punches later it was all over.

Kurt Southern learned a big lesson on Friday night. Play with fire, and you’ll get burned.

Southern had his way with Jonatas Novaes throughout the first two rounds of their fight, and things were going his way in the third, as well – until Novaes got a hold of Southerns’ right arm for a submission that saved him. Had the fight gone to the judges, it’s not likely he’d have gotten his hand raised.

Novaes worked leg kicks early, but with his hands low, Southern landed a right hand that stunned him and sent him to his knees. Southern got him on him on the ground, but Novaes, a world champion grappler, got back to his feet. Southern went after him again and landed a good knee, then landed a left hand as they broke off. But Novaes landed a low leg kick that took Southern off his feet.

As Southern continued to find success on the feet, Novaes twice dropped to his back and invited Southern to the ground. But he’d have none of it and the ref stood him up. Southern again got the fight to the ground at the end of the round and landed big hammerfists until the horn – and even one right after the horn.

Southern landed a suplex early in the second and then worked to land ground and pound from the top. Back on the feet, Southern continued to land with his right hand, and then again scored a takedown. Any offense Novaes was able to land on the feet was typically countered with a Southern takedown.

But Southern being willing to play on the ground with Novaes would come back to bite him in the third, as he spent a little too much time on the ground looking for ground-and-pound openings. Novaes grabbed Southern’s right arm, and that was the end. Southern tapped 66 seconds into the final frame.

Novaes (11-4) won his second in a row and sixth in his past seven fights, all by stoppage. Southern (10-4) had a three-fight win streak snapped with the loss.

Jason Zentgraf submits Clay Davidson

After nearly two rounds of ho-hum, Jason Zentgraf came to play when it mattered.

After spending much of the first nearly 10 minutes clinched up with Clay Davidson, including nearly the entirety of the first round, Zentgraf took advantage on the ground in the waning seconds of the second round to finish Davidson with an armbar.

The bulk of the first round was spent with the two in the clinch, though it was Zentgraf who was doing the most work with things tied up in the corner of the ring as he worked for knees in tight. As the crowd grew restless, the referee continued to let them try to work out of it until, inexplicably, he finally broke them apart with 17 seconds left in the first round – not nearly enough time for either fight to get anything done.

There wasn’t as much prolonged clinch work in the second, but as the clock winded down in the round, with Davidson looking like a cinch to survive to have a chance in the third. But Zentgraf grabbed an arm and rolled, and with just three seconds left in the second, Davidson tapped out.

Zentgraf (7-1) won for the fourth straight time and second time under the MFC banner. All seven of his wins are by submission. Davidson (7-4) had a two-fight win streak snapped with the loss.

Wes Swofford stuns Jay Silva with first-round knockout Six days’ notice for Wes Swofford might have been one day too many as far as Jay Silva is concerned.

Swofford took the fight with Silva on less than a week’s notice and came into the fight an underdog against the UFC and Bellator veteran. But it didn’t seem to matter.

Silva landed a left head kick right away in the fight and dropped Swofford. But Swofford recovered, and after tying Silva up, Swofford landed a left elbow to the side of Silva’s head. A couple uppercuts and a handful of punches later, and that was it with Silva out on his feet.

The knockout came just 41 seconds into the fight.

Swofford (8-3) got back in the win column after a loss a month ago and now has won five of his past six. Silva (8-7), a UFC and Bellator vet who went a combined 1-3 in those promotions, now has dropped three of his past four and two in a row.

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